Two Yellow Teas

Well, in a buying spree last night, fueled by the euphoria of the bulk bins at Central market, I aquired two yellow teas. I have not tried yellow yet, but after perusing Victoria's and Hop's forays, I am curious.

The two teas are from Republic of Tea's Exclusive Estate for Central Market and they were fairly pricey, so we'll see how I fair vis-avis bang for buck.

I was able to dig into one of the teas yesterday....the Hunan Yellow. I decided to prepare the tea as per the directions on the bin. It was also indicated that I should be able to infuse more than once. I did three infusions with the first two coming out quite well and the last being very weak. Overall, I enjoyed this tea. I would like to see it get at least 2 infusions out of every standard steep and also hold up well to gongfu, that would make the price worth it. I will gongfu this tea sometime in the next week.

Here are my short notes:

HUNAN YELLOW – RoT EXCLUSIVE ESTATE (Junshan Yinzhen?)
note: I believe that a yellow from the Hunan region should be the yellow version of Silver Needles, however, this tea looked different. Anyone know if perhaps the Junshan can look different? EDIT: after some more research I think this tea is kin to Wei Shan Mao Jian. This tea, however, is still lighter in color than the examples I have seen of the Wei Shan.

Prepping in the stone teapot (this pot holds approx. 4oz). One and a half TSP infusion at 160 for 3 minutes. Dry leaves are small and curly. Similar to White Monkey, just smaller and with a yellow tinge. Dry leaves smell most like green tea with a hint of aroma similar to Darjeeling.

Aroma: fresh, sweet, similar to Alishan, mellow
Color: light peachy gold, with a little bit of film (white 'hairs')
Flavor: subtle, but with complexity that builds. A mellower version of Silver Needles. Pleasant, smooth and slightly sweet, with a lingering sweet finish.

Second steep: Same leaves, temp and time.

Aroma: less 'green' smell in this infusion
Color: paler in color, just a hint of peach, also with little white ‘hairs’ creating a film
Flavor: a bit weaker, but fresher. More like a white, less sweet with the appearance of florals.

Third Steep: Same leaves, temp and time.

Aroma: very mellow with heavy sweetness
Color: very pale peach with only a hint of gold
Flavor: much weaker. Hint of bitterness. Body is subtly floral. Finish is bitter.